Typhoon Nari is gradually losing strength after battering the Vietnam coast.
However, it is likely to enter the Bay of Bengal as a cyclonic circulation in a similar manner as very severe cyclonic storm Phailin had done a week ago
The loss of intensity is no guarantee it will not
regain strength after entering Bay of Bengal that has given rise to 26 of the recent 35 major cyclones in the world.

Of ficials of the Indian Meteorological Department’s cyclone warning division are closely monitoring the situation as Phailin, which had entered the Bay of Bengal in the form of a low-pressure system gradually intensified into a cyclone and then into a very severe cyclone.

“The typhoon is gradually losing strength after playing havoc in Vietnam. But the direction in which it is moving it is likely to enter the Bay of Bengal as a cyclonic circulation over the next few days. We are monitoring its track round the clock. It is too early to conclude whether it would intensify into another cyclone,” said M Mohapatra who heads of the cyclone warning division.

It may be recalled that Phailin had also travelled a few thousand km and had entered the Bay of Bengal near the Andaman Coast and Tenasserim coast in Myanmar as a low-pressure area.

“Even though Nari would enter the Bay of Bengal as a cyclonic circulation which has a lesser intensity than a low pressure, we can’t say for now that it won’t develop into a cyclone. We can also say that chances are less. The system is being monitored,” said D Pradhan, deputy director general of the IMD’s regional office in Kolkata.

Met officials, however, said if the system doesn’t develop into another cyclone over the next few days, it would pave the way for the monsoon to retreat.

Apart from the remnants of Nari, which is likely to enter the Bay, there are no other systems in sight, which could further thwart the retreat of the monsoon from the country.

“Phailin, as it ripped through the Odisha coast and then travelled further inland, had sucked in almost all the moisture that was present in the air in central and eastern India. This has paved the way for the monsoon’s retreat and we expect that the monsoon would resume its withdrawal from North and Northwest India in the next 2-3 days,” said Mohapatra.

In Kolkata, meteorologists have predicted, the weather would remain clear over the next two days and chances of rain and thundershowers are fading away fast.